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OLD YORKTOWN 
AND ITS HISTORY 



By Mrs. Sydney Smith 



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Copyright, 1920 

By MRS. SYDNEY SMITH 

Yorktown, Va. 



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By Mrs. Sydney Smith. 



THE TOWN OF YORK (now Yorktown) was laid off in 
1691 by Laurence Smith, surveyor. The king issued 
orders that fifty acres of land should be bought and laid 
off for a shire town (court-house town), and must be paid for 
from the king's treasury (which was tobacco). The land be- 
longed to Benjamin Read, of Gloucester, and the amount paid 
for it was ten thousand pounds of tobacco. The river on which 
Yorktown was built was first called the Charles River, and 
afterwards the York, from York in England, from which the town 
and river took their name. A map of the town made by Laurence 
Smith in 1691 is on record in the clerk's office and a facsimile 
will be found on the first page of this book. The street scene 



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MAIN STREET. 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 



in the picture shows the original main street of the old town, the 
only street that runs parallel with the river. There are seven 
cross streets running east and west: Bacon, Smith, Pearl, Read, 
Grace, Ballard and Buckner, all of which were laid off and named 
at the time that the town was laid off. Yorktown has been 




MAIN STREET— LOOKING EAST. 





,K*W«i--.>~- 



MAIN STREET— LOOKING WEST. 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 5 

burned three times and very few of the old houses remain. All 
that is left of the Revolutionary breastworks are a few mounds 
which will be seen on the left-hand side of the road as one leaves 
the monument. All of the forts around Yorktown were products 
of the Revolution but were reinforced during the War Between 
the States by Magruder when McClellan came up the Peninsula. 
Being already there, it was easier to reinforce them than to build 
others. Fort Hamilton, just out of the town, was named for the 
gallant young general, Alexander Hamilton, who took this fort. 
It is in a good state of preservation and is seen on the left in going 
to Temple Farm, on which is the Moore House, where the Ar- 
ticles of Agreement were drawn up. 

The old Episcopal Church, built in 1700, is constructed of 
oyster shells and a formation of rock and sand stuccoed. The 
original building was Cruciform, but the arms of the cross were 
destroyed, and only the main part of the building is left. The 
foundation of one of the arms is still to be seen on the left. The 
bell and communion service were presented to the church by 
Queen Anne, and both are still used. The bell bears the date 
1725. It withstood everything except the Civil War, when a 
magazine exploded in the west end of the town while McClellan 




EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
Built 1700. 



6 OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 

was there, and damaged the belfry so badly the bell fell and was 
cracked. It was taken away by one of the soldiers to Phila- 
delphia, where it fell into the hands of some smelting company. 
In 1881, the time of the Centennial at Yorktown, it was recast 
and sent back as a present to the church. 

In the yard of the church are many old tombs, six generations 
of the Nelson family being represented among them. That of 
Scotch Tom Nelson, the founder of the Nelson family in York, is 
first and is an antique monument. On the four sides are cherubs. 
On the head of one a crown is being placed, and another with a 
trumpet is proclaiming "All Glory to God." The inscription 
has all disappeared. At the foot of this grave is another tomb 
made of brick and not so elaborate. It marks the body of Presi- 
dent William Nelson, son of Scotch Tom Nelson and president 
of the King's Council. Then comes the grave of Governor 
Nelson, son of William Nelson. This grave lay for years un- 
marked, no one knowing exactly where this great man was 
buried. Mr. Lee, of Gloucester, rector of the church, found an 
old history in which it was stated that Governor Thomas Nelson 
was buried at the foot of the grave of his father, President William 
Nelson. Since then the descendants of the Nelsons have marked 
his grave with a large granite slab bearing the following inscrip- 
tion: 

"General Thomas Nelson, Jr., 

Patriot, Soldier, Christian Gentleman, 

Born December 12, 1738; Died January 2, 1789. 

Mover of the Resolution of May 16, 1776, in the Virginia 

Convention Instructing Her Delegates in Congress to 

Move That Body to Declare the Colonies Free and 

Independent States; Signer of the Declaration 

of Independence; War Governor of Virginia; 

Commander of the Virginia Forces. 

'He Gave All for Liberty!' " 

The other three generations are buried to the right of these 
tombs, and their graves are inclosed by an iron fence. 

During the War of 1812, when the soldiers went through 
Yorktown burning everything as they went, they took the fur- 
niture out of the church and made a bonfire, afterwards using 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 





■■■■■■■ 



"THE MOORE HOUSE." 

Home of Governor Spottswood, and where Articles of Agreement were drawn up between 
the Americans and English in 1781. 




ROOM IN MOORE HOUSE IN WHICH ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT WERE DRAWN UP 



8 OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 

the church for a stable. It was also used during the Civil War 
as a hospital. 

The Moore House, on Temple Farm, was the summer home of 
Governor Spottswood, who was the great Marlborough's side-de- 
camp, and who had borne the news of Bernheim to England. He 
established the iron foundry in America. His body was brought 
from Maryland and buried on the farm by what is called "The 
Temple." It is said that Governor Spottswood built a temple 
or church on the farm, and it is from this that the name is de- 
rived. This is traditional and not authentic, as it is thought 
that the temple is of older date. The name may have been taken 
from the ancestors of Governor Spottswood by that name. The 
Moore House is named for Bernard Moore, who married the 
daughter of Governor Spottswood. In this house, in the room 
on the right as you enter, the Articles of Agreement were drawn 
up. It has been said by some that they were signed in this room, 
but the fact is that Washington went out to his camp in the 
trenches to have them signed. At the Temple the only grave 
to be seen is that of Major William Gooch, with the following 
inscription : 

"Within that tomb their dust interred lie, 
No shape but substance, true nobility, 
Itself, though young in years, just twenty-nine, 
Yet graced with virtues moral and divine. 
The church from him did good participate 
In council rare fit to adorn a State." 

There is another tomb that was ploughed up on the farm and 
is kept in the basement of the Moore House. This gives the 
name of Turner, and the date of his death as October 19, 1781, 
the day of the surrender. He was killed during the siege of York- 
town, and the inscription on the slab reads: "It was the cruel 
ball that took him from his loved ones' arms." There is a part 
of the foundation of the temple to be seen, and no doubt a good 
many tombs are buried beneath the ground and could be found 
by excavating. It seems, however, as if none of the owners of 
the farm care to have the place disturbed. 

The old Custom House, which stands now in a good state of 
preservation, was the first custom house in America. Yorktown 
being the first port of entry, all vessels doing business with the 
Northern cities had to come first to this port for papers before 
going on. The building is said to have been erected about 1715, 
but this date is not authentic. It is built of old English brick. 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 




FIRST CUSTOM HOUSE OF AMERICA. 
Built About 1715. 



The first and only, bank in Yorktown is housed in the Custom 
House, and visitors are always welcome. 

Cornwallis' cave, down under the hill, is said to have been the 
hiding place of Cornwallis during the siege of Yorktown. We 
cannot think this of the brave general at the head of the British 
Army. Perhaps if he went in the cave it was, just as the sight- 
seer goes, to look at it. It is thought to have been a smuggler's 
cave. The only way of getting into the cave was through a 
small hole just over where the door now is. By means of a ladder 
of some make anyone could crawl in and out without being seen. 
This cave was used during the Civil War as a magazine. A 
large fort was built around it to protect it. A passageway was 
constructed which led to the cave, and the holes which are cut 
in the cave were made to hold the large beam used in making the 
passageway. Some time after the war all of this gave way and 
fell in. The owner of the place cleared away the debris, dug out 
a place of entrance, put up a door, and at the time of the Cen- 
tennial of 1881 began to charge an admission fee of ten cents. 
Whatever its history the cave is one of the places of interest of 
Yorktown and should be seen by all visitors. Upon entering 



10 



0;LD~ YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 




CORNWALLIS' CAVE 
The Cave Where Cornwallis Was Supposed to Have Hidden During the Siege 



one finds himself in a large room, to the right of which is a smaller 
room. 

The West House was the home of Elizabeth Nelson, the oldest, 
daughter of President William Nelson, who married Major West, 
a member of the governor's staff. Three Revolutionary cannon 
balls went through the house, a twelve-inch sill in the basement 
being cut in half by one of them, another going through the first 
floor. There are marks now on the walls in each room where 
the ball penetrated. This is now the home of the author of this 
pamphlet. 

The small monument is said to mark the spot of the surrender. 
Mr. Shaw, a patriotic old gentleman, then superintendent of 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 



11 




THE WEST HOUSE. 
Built by President William Nelson in 1720. 

the National Cemetery, was very much interested in the his- 
torical places in Yorktown. After being in the town for some 
time without being shown anything to mark the spot of the sur- 
render, he determined to try to find the place. It is known to 
have been somewhere near the cemetery, and at the place where 
the poplar trees were planted. In searching around he found 
what he thought to be the stumps of these trees. At this place 
he placed a monument at his own expense, hoping the govern- 
ment would in time replace it with a larger one. The govern- 
ment, doubting the accuracy of Mr. Shaw's location as being that 
where the sword was given up, and unwilling to erect a monu- 
ment to mark such a great event, with the possibility of discover- 
ing in after years a mistake in the location, decided not to have 
anything to do with marking the spot of the surrender until it 
could be authentically ascertained. Mr. Shaw was very much 
disappointed and kept the little monument at his own expense 
while he lived. After his death no one seemed enough interested 
to look after it, and it is falling down by degrees. Soon there 
will be nothing left. It is hoped that in the near future the gov- 



12 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 



















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MONUMENT MARKING PLACE OF SURRENDER. 



ernment will by some means find the spot of the surrender and 
erect a suitable monument, which could be looked after with little 
extra expense by the superintendent of the National Cemetery. 
This is the place of all places that the government of the United 
States should be interested in, for it was here that our country 
gained its independence. If not at the spot of the Shaw monu- 
ment, then somewhere near it the sword of the British Army was 
given up and America was free. 

The Old English Tavern, now called the Yorktown Hotel, was 
the first tavern to be built in Yorktown. It was here that Wash- 
ington, LaFayette, Cornwallis and other great generals were 
entertained. It is thought by some to be the oldest house now 
standing in Yorktown. 

The Nelson House was the home of the Governor Thomas 
Nelson, Jr., and the headquarters of Cornwallis during the latter 
part of the siege, his headquarters being first in Secretary House 
and what is known as Secretary Hill, just beyond the monument. 
Scotch Tom Nelson, the first Nelson ancestor in America, brought 
three sons with him, William, Hugh and Thomas. He built a 
home for each of them and this house was built for William Nel- 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 



13 




HOME OF GOVERNOR THOMAS NELSON 
Built 1711. 



son, president of the King's Council and father of Governor 
Thomas Nelson. Some give the date of its erection as 1740, but 
the writer found among some old papers copied from an old his- 
tory giving 1711 as the time of the building of this house for Wil- 
liam Nelson, the son of Scotch Tom Nelson. Miss Kate Nelson, 
the last of the Nelson family to live in this house, also told the 
writer that her father had stated to her that the house was built 
in 1711. It bears marks of Revolutionary cannon balls, one 
of which was fired by Governor Nelson himself when Cornwallis 
occupied the house. This house has a secret panel and a winding 
stairway leading to the attic. The wall around the house was 
not built until after the Civil War, and was put up by the last 
William Nelson, of Texas, a grandson of the governor. It was in 
the Nelson House that General LaFayette was entertained when 
he visited Yorktown in 1824. Scotch Tom Nelson's house stood 
on the opposite side of the street from the Nelson House and was 
shelled down during the siege. His office stood in good condi- 
tion until two years ago, when it was burned. The Nelson heirs 
owned this place until 1907, when it was sold to Mr. Joseph 
Bryan, of Richmond. It is now owned by Captain George P. 



14 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 




OLD ENGLISH TAVERN 



Blow, of LaSalle, 111. In the gable end of the house can be seen 
a hole made by the ball fired by Governor Thomas Nelson when 
it furnished refuge for the enemy. Governor Nelson was a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence, was governor, and com- 
manded the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War. 
When a boy of fourteen years he was sent to Eton and afterwards 
to Cambridge, where he graduated with high honors. In 1761 
he returned home and was made a member of the House of Bur- 
gesses through the influence of his family. 

The monument which stands to-day in Yorktown was built 
to commemorate the victory of the Revolution. In 1781 the 
first Congress which met after the Revolutionary War adopted 
resolutions ordering one hundred thousand dollars to be appro- 
priated to build a monument in Yorktown to commemorate the 
victory of the Americans. 

It was not until 1880 (nearly one hundred years afterwards) 
that the direction was carried out. There were three artists 
appointed, R. M. Hunt and J. A. Ward, of New York, and Henry 
Van Brunt, of Boston, and the design and model were to be ac- 
cepted by the Secretary of War. The sentiment of this monu- 
ment is intended to convey the idea set forth in the dedicatory 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 



15 




YORKTOWN MONUMENT. 
Erected to Commemorate the Victory of the American Army in 1781. 

inscription that by the victory of Yorktown the independence of 
America was achieved. The four sides of the base contain, 
first, an inscription dedicating the monument as a memorial of 
victory; second, an inscription presenting a succinct narrative of 
the siege; third, the treaty of alliance with the King of France; 
fourth, the treaty of peace with the King of England. 

In the pediments over these four sides are carved, first, em- 
blems of nationality; second, emblems of war; third, emblems of 
alliance; and, fourth, emblems of peace. 

The base is devoted to the historical statements. On the 
circular produm are thirteen female figures, representing the 
thirteen original States. On the belt beneath their feet are the 
words, "One Country, One Destiny, and One Constitution." 



16 OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 

The thirty-eight stars on the column represent the thirty-eight 
States that had been admitted to the Union up to the time that 
the monument was erected. In the midst of the stars is the shield 
of Yorktown, "The Branch of Peace." At the top stands the 
Goddess of Liberty, star-crowned, welcoming the people of all 
nations to share with us our peace and prosperity. The monu- 
ment is ninety-five feet six inches in height. The inscriptions 
are as follows: 

FIRST. 

At Yorktown on October 19, 1781, after a siege of nineteen days by 5,500 Ameri- 
cans and 7,000 French troops of the line, 3,500 militia under the command of General 
Thomas Nelson and thirty-six French ships of war, Earl Cornwallis, commander of 
the British forces at Yorktown and Gloucester, surrendered his army of 7,251 officers 
and men, 840 seamen and 240 standards to his Excellency, George Washington, 
commander-in-chief of the combined forces of America and France, and to his Ex- 
cellency, the Compte de Rochambeau, . commanding the auxiliary troops of his 
Most Christian Majesty in America, and to his Excellency, the Compte de Grasse, 
commanding-in-chief the naval army of France in the Chesapeake. 

SECOND. 

The treaty of peace concluded February, 1778, between the United States of 
America and Louis XVI, King of France, declares the essential end of the present 
defensive alliance is to maintain effectually the liberty, sovereignty and indepen- 
dence, absolute and unlimited, of the United States as well in matters of government 
as of commerce. 

THIRD. 

Erected in pursuance of a resolution of Congress, adopted October 29, 1781, and 
one approved June 7, 1880, to commemorate the victory by which the independence 
of the United States of America was achieved. 

FOURTH. 

The provisional articles of peace concluded November 30, 1782, and the difinitive 
treaty of peace concluded September 3, 1783, between the United States of America 
and George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland, declares his Britanic Majesty 
acknowledged the said United States, viz.: New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina' 
Georgia, to be free, sovereign and independent States. 

This monument was to have cost $100,000. Only $95,000 was 
paid, the remaining $5,000 being put in the treasury, where it 
was drawing interest. Ex-President Taft visited the town while 
he was Secretary of State and became very much interested in 
Yorktown and the monument. Seeing only a little pale fence 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 17 

around the monument, falling down from year to year, and 
learning of the $5,000 lying in the treasury, he made up his mind 
to have this sum used in improving the premises and effected an 
appropriation of the money to that end. The grounds were put 
in order, granolithic walks laid, and an iron fence erected around 
the square. 

Still another monument has adorned Yorktown. A monu- 
ment was erected in the town in 1860 to commemorate the sur- 
render. It was thirteen feet in height and composed of two bases 
of James River granite and a shaft of white marble bearing the 
following inscription : 

"Erected the 19th day of October, 1860, by the regimental 
and company officers of the Twenty-first Regiment of Virginia 
militia of Gloucester county, and of the volunteer company 
attached hereto, to mark the spot of the surrender of Cornwallis' 
sword on the 19th of October, 1781." 

This monument was furnished by John W. Davies, of Rich- 
mond. It was not erected on the 19th of October on account of a 
heavy storm, its erection being deferred until the 29th of October. 
The site was authenticated by several marks of identification 
which had been placed by William Nelson, son of Governor Nel- 
son, and consisting of a heap of ballast stones differing from those 
common to the locality and supposed to have been brought over 
from England in vessels and to have dated back to the time when 
LaFayette visited the town in 1824. Another landmark was the 
poplar trees planted by William Nelson in the form of a square 
about the year 1847. The life of this monument was short. 
It fell a victim to the soldiers who were stationed nearby, and not 
a vestige of it remains. It is thought to have been carried off 
by relic hunters. 

The monument which stands to-day at Yorktown as a memorial 
of victory was to 'have been placed on the spot of surrender, but 
the contract provided that it should be put in the town of York, 
and as the spot of surrender was outside of the town, a situation 
was chosen on the most beautiful bluff which overlooks the York 
River and on property owned by the government at the time of 
the erection of the monument. 

A brief account of the siege of Yorktown follows: Cornwallis 
occupied the town with several of his ships lying at anchor above 
Gloucester Point. The American Army formed a crescent about 
Yorktown, Washington with his army being stationed about 
three miles out in the county to the south, Nelson with the militia 



18 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 




THE HARBOR, YORKTOWN, VA. 



at Wormley's Creek, to the east, and Rochambeau to the west. 
The French fleet, Compte de Grasse commander, lay off in the 
river forming a block against the British. Cornwallis, finding 
himself completely hemmed in, attempted to get over to the 
Gloucester side, where part of his army was stationed. He had 
little batteaux (flat-bottomed boats) made ready so that when 
everything seemed opportune he might make his escape. At 
twelve o'clock the little boats with muffled oars, led. by Corn- 
wallis in person, started across the river. When they were in 
mid-stream a heavy storm arose, so violent that the small craft 
could not live in the rough waters. Some were driven ashore, 
some capsized, and others were captured by the French ships. 
Part of the English fleet were sunk and others captured by the 
French. Before the ships were taken Cornwallis directed that 
everything of any value be thrown overboard, and it is said that 
a large and heavy chest filled with money and other valuables 
was let down into the water in order that it might not fall into 
the hands of the Americans. Several times the river has been 
dragged for this chest, but nothing of the supposed Cornwallis 
treasure has ever been discovered. This occurred on October 
18, 1781, and on the 19th at 11 o'clock the surrender took place. 
Cornwallis wrote to Washington requesting a postponement of 
the surrender by reason of his inability to attend on account of 
sickness. He had written to New York for reinforcements and 



OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 19 

was expecting them at any time, and this was his actual motive 
for asking the postponement. Washington heard of this and even 
at the time that the message was sent ships were entering the river 
with reinforcements for the British Army. One was sunk at the 
mouth of the river by the French, and others were driven back. 
Washington refused Cornwallis' request and insisted that the 
surrender must take place on the 19th. Cornwallis sent General 
O'Hara to present the sword. Washington refused to receive 
the sword from a minor general and deputized General Lincoln 
to receive it for him from General O'Hara. This was a happy day 
for sweet revenge for General Lincoln, for the previous year he 
had surrendered at Charleston to an inferior officer. 

When the British Prime Minister heard the news of the sur- 
render which ended the great Revolutionary War, he threw up 
his hands and exclaimed, "My God, it's all over." It was all 
over and "America was free." 

When Cornwallis first entered Yorktown he made his head- 
quarters at Secretary Nelson's house, which stood on Secretary 
Hill. This secretary of the King's Council was called Tory 
Nelson, because of his friendliness to the English, and it was be- 
cause of his sympathy with the enemy that Cornwallis selected 
this place for his headquarters. The French found that Corn- 
wallis was hiding there and opened fire on the house. The 
occupants were dining. The butler was killed while serving the 
general. When Cornwallis found the house was being shelled he 
said, "It's time to be moving," and went immediately to Governor 
Nelson's home. Secretary Nelson's house was totally destroyed. 
Learning that the British commander had moved to the gov- 
ernor's house, the French troops began firing on him there. 
Washington, hearing that Nelson's property was being destroyed, 
sent word that nothing belonging to him must be damaged. 
Nelson himself, who was commanding the Virginia militia, when 
he heard Washington's orders, went out to the ships and said, 
"I want no property of mine saved that holds refuge for the 
enemy." Whereupon he aimed the gun and offered five guineas 
to the man who would fire it. The gunners refused to disobey 
Washington's command. General Nelson fired the gun himself 
and the ball struck the gable end of the house, making the hole 
which can now be seen by the tourist. 

Nelson spent his entire fortune in the Revolution for his coun- 
try's cause and died in poverty, the grave being unmarked until 
1907. No recompense was ever made to the family by the 



20 OLD YORKTOWN AND ITS HISTORY 

nation. Some years after the war the losses were computed for 
the purpose of applying to Congress for an appropriation to cover 
them. A bill was brought up in the meantime for Mrs. Hamilton, 
the wife of Alexander Hamilton (who it was that made the great 
speech under the walls of the redoubt at Yorktown and was the 
general who took Fort Hamilton, named after him). A member 
of Congress inquired if there was not a poor house in New York, 
that Mrs. Hamilton had come to Congress begging. Governor 
Nelson, being a listener in the legislative halls at the time of this 
incident, refused to proceed further in his mother's behalf, saying 
that he was unwilling to permit her name to be brought before a 
body that tolerated such expressions. Mrs. Nelson, wife of the 
governor, died at her home in Hanover and was buried in an un- 
marked grave in the old family graveyard. After the grave of 
Governor Nelson was found the Nelson descendants wished to 
have the remains of Mrs. Nelson brought and laid beside her hus- 
band, but as there is nothing to show where her grave is it will be 
difficult to carry this out after so many years. 

At the time of the Revolutionary War Yorktown boasted 
3,600 inhabitants. Now there are scarcely 300, of which only 
about 125 are white. 



Richmond press, inc., printers 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 440 228 5 | 



